Bee Gee Brothers Demand Answers
MIAMI BEACH, Florida — The family of Bee Gee Maurice Gibb, who died on Sunday after abdominal surgery, is questioning the hospital treatment he received prior to his death.
The 53-year-old had been critically ill since an operation to remove an intestinal blockage after he collapsed at his Florida home last week.
The Mount Sinai Medical Centre said that before his surgery he had “experienced cardiac arrest.”
Brother Barry Gibb, 55, said the family would fight to discover the truth about Maurice’s death.
“From the fact that they had to operate on Maurice during the shock of cardiac arrest, is very questionable, and we will pursue every factor, every element, every second of the timeline of the final hours of Maurice’s life,” Barry Gibb told the BBC.
“We will pursue that relentlessly. That will be our quest from now on,” he said.
A statement released by his family said: “It is with great sadness and sorrow that we regretfully announce the passing of Maurice Gibb.
“His love and enthusiasm and energy for life remain an inspiration to all of us. We will all deeply miss him.”
Gibb’s twin brother, Robin, said in a television interview on Friday in Britain that his brother’s collapse took everyone by surprise but that Maurice’s “vital organs are A-1 and he’s recovering.”
But he had also warned doctors had told the family that the following 48 hours would be crucial.
Pete Bassett, Robin Gibb’s spokesman, said on Sunday: “It’s a huge shock to us all. It’s the worst possible news anyone could have expected. There’s just complete and utter shock. This is an unbelievable blow.”
Maurice played bass and keyboard for the group, whose name is short for the Brothers Gibb.
The Bee Gees — Maurice, Robin and their older brother Barry — have lived in South Florida since the late 1970s. Their younger brother, Andy, who had a successful solo career, died in 1988 at age 30 from a heart ailment.
Known for their close harmonies and original sound, the Bee Gees are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and their 1977 contributions to the “Saturday Night Fever” album made it one of the best selling movie soundtracks ever. Among their disco hits on that album are “Stayin’ Alive,” “More Than a Woman” and “How Deep Is Your Love.”
They also had hits in other genres, including the haunting “New York Mining Disaster 1941” and “I Started a Joke.”
The group won seven Grammy Awards together. The Bee Gees last album was in 2001, titled “This Is Where I Came In.”
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